The Golden Gate Branch was one of four Carnegie Free Libraries designed in 1914 by Oakland architects of statewide prominence.
This branch was built in 1918 and has served continuously as an Oakland Public Library branch from its construction to the present.

Oakland pioneered branch libraries in California, opening branch reading rooms as early as 1878 and continuing to emphasize neighborhood
branches as the city expanded.

The Golden Gate and Alden branches in North Oakland were established in 1899 as promised to those neighborhoods during the annexation
campaign of 1897.